Breaker strip construction



y 1953 H. HINKEL ET AL 2,644,603

BREAKER STRIP CONSTRUCTION Filed Jan. 14, 1950 2 7 I F|G.|.

i i J L F I J' INVENTQRS I LESTER H. HINKEL JOHN R. PROSEK which. are :disposed indifferent planes.

Patented July 7, 1953 2,644,603 {BREAKER STRIP CONSTRUCTION master H. Hinkel and John R. Prosek, Evansville, 11nd; assignors to InternationalHarvester Compal y, acorporation of New Jersey Application January 14, 1950; Serial No. 138,604

. 2 Claims.

This invention relates to a novel type breaker strip construction for bridgin the space between the inner and outer walls of: a refrigerator cabinet.

It is quite common to connect theinnerand outer walls of a refrigerator cabinet with b'reaker :strips composed of, a low heat conducting material. In more recent'designs, the breaker strips have been'constructed in transversely curved sections and secured to inner and outer wall flanges The large sections of insulating material disposed-between the inner and outer walls usually terminates at the flange located nearestthe back of the refrigerator. This leaves a space between the breaker strip and :the insulating material, which is usually filled by inserting a separate piece of insulating-material. This extra piece of insulation causes increased'material'and labor cost in the manufacture of the article. not filled with insulating material, temperature differential between the breaker strip surface in contact with the cold cabinet air and the cabinet outer wall causes convectional air currents to be set up .under the breaker strip. The outer wall will be cooled by the air circulation which causes condensation on the outer wall and a substantial heat lossbetween the outer and innerwalls.

The primary purpose of this invention is to provide .air baflles on the under side of a breaker stri so that air circulation under the breaker strip will be reduced.

Another object is to provide a transversely curved breaker strip construction which will eliminate the necessity of inserting a separate piece of insulating material under the breaker strip.

Still another object is to provide a breaker strip with rib like extensions on one side which will strengthen the breaker strip.

Other objects of the invention will appear from the following description and claims taken in connection with the accompanying drawings forming a part of the application in which:

Fig. 1 is a front view of a refrigerator cabinet utilizing the present invention and showing the food storage compartment door in open position.

Fig. 2 is an enlarged sectional view taken on line 2-2 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a rear view of a part of the breaker strip.

Referring specifically to the drawing for a detailed description of the invention, numeral l designates a refrigerator cabinet comprising an inner shell II and an outer shell I2 with heat insulation material l3 therebetween, a door Hi If this. space is extending at right angles to the flange 2|.

hingedly supported by hinges I5 on saidouter shell and a lower front cover portion l6.

The forward marginal edge of the outer shell :12 is bentback over itself and then inwardly as indicated at I! to form a channel 18 having spaced apart flanges or extensions l9 and'20.

The forward marginal edge of the innersh'ell II is angled over to forman inwardly projecting flange or extension 2| with a second flange '22 The insulating material terminates in substantially .the same'vertical plane that the flange" dies in, thus leaving a space between the vertical planes that flanges 19 and 20 liein, into which breaker strip 23 fits in the manner hereinafter.

described.

The preformed breaker strip 23 is fashioned from a low heatconducting plastic orfibrousma- :terial of the non-hygroscopic and non-metallic type, and fashioned so as to provide a transversely curved contoured portion proximate one edge thereof, substantially as illustrated int Fig. 2. Such member may be fabricated in a plu- .rality; of 1 sections .and then installed end' -to end around the door opening, buthin the illustrated embodiment, such member is'fashioned so that only .onesuch. section is required .on each side and-one-each on the topand bottom ofthe door opening.

.On the under side of the breaker strip 23'are transversely extending ribs 25 andlongitudinally extending ribs 26. In the illustrated embodiment th'ese "ribsare shown 1 as part of the preformed breaker strip, but if desired, they could be separate members which are either attachedto or placed under the breaker strip; Any number of ribs could be provided, but as seen in Fig. 3, the transverse ribs 25 are arranged in pairs spaced approximately apart with approximately 6" between pairs and the longitudinal ribs 26 extend between the pairs of transverse ribs with one rib 26 located approximately midway between the inner and outer edges of the breaker strip 23 and a second rib 26 located adjacent the outer edge of said breaker strip. The ribs 25 and 26 are relatively thin and extend down into contact with the insulating material 13. A slight clearance is provided between the ribs and the flanges 20, 2|, 22 and the channel l8 to allow for variation of inner and outer shell dimensions. vide the space under the breaker strip 23 into rectangular sections or air pockets 21 and act as air bafiles for reducing air circulation under the breaker strip. These ribs also serve to strengthen the breaker strip.

The ribs di- Between each pair of transverse ribs 25, the,

breaker strip is fashioned with a turned in lip of flange 24 along its inner edge and a rib-like abutment 28 spaced inwardly from its outer edge. Spring clips 29 are placed between said ribs for holding the breaker strip in place and are fashioned from some resilient material such as spring steel with an inwardly bent portion 30 proximate one end and a large radial curved portion 3i on the opposite end. Spaced from portion 30 is a bent up portion 32 and between this bent up portion and end portion 3| is a fiat portion 33.

In assembling the breaker strips in the cabinet, the spring clips 29 are first positioned so :lip 24. This forces theoute r edge of the breaker strip up against flange i9 and the inner edge down against flange 21' and holds the breaker strip securely in place. 7

From the foregoing it will be apparent that there is provided a breaker strip assembly which is easy to install, is inexpensive and rugged, will cut down heat loss from between the inner and outer shells of a refrigerator cabinet and eliminate the necessity of fitting insulation under the breaker strip.

While one embodiment of the invention has been described for the purpose of illustration, it should be understood that various modifications may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention or the scope of the appended claims.

What is claimed is: a a

1. In a refrigerator cabinet, spaced inner and outer walls having edge portions bent inwardly toward each other, said edge portions disposed in different planes, heat insulating material disposed between said walls and terminating in approximately the plane of the bent-in edge portion nearest the back of said cabinet, a transversely curved breaker strip member bridging the space between said inner and outer walls and enclosing a space between said breaker strip and 4 said insulating material, said breaker strip member provided with longitudinally extending ribs and transversely extending ribs which extend therefrom into contact with said insulating material, said transversely extending ribs arranged in spaced apart pairs, said longitudinally extending ribs connecting said pairs, said space being divided into separate air pockets by said ribs so that air circulation in said space is prevented, and detachable resilient members positioned between each pair of said transversely extending ribs for securing the breaker strip member to said edge portions. p

2. In a refrigerator cabinet having spaced apart inner and outer walls with insulation disposed therebetween, a transversely curved breaker strip, aplurality of ribs mounted longitudinally substantially at each edge on the concave side of said breaker strip, means associated with said walls and said ribs for mountingsaid breaker strip to abut said walls whereby a space is formed between said insulation and the concave side of said breaker strip, a second plurality of ribs mounted transversely in spaced apart pairs at spaced intervals on the concave side of said breaker strip, a third plurality of ribs mounted longitudinally in spaced apart pairs between each pair of said second plurality of ribs on the concave side of said breaker strip, said second and third plurality of ribs having a depth sufiicient to cause the edges thereof to. abut said insulation whereby said space is divided to form a plurality of second spaces and the curvature of said breaker strip is maintained.

1 LESTER H. HINKEL.

JOHN R. PROSEK.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Name Date 1,694,291 Sywert Dec. 4, 1928 2,225,926 Oelmann Dec. 24, 1940 2,330,988 'Nave Oct; 5, 1943 2,343,447 Drake Mar. 7, 1944 2,348,645 Quinn May '9, 1944 2,349,420 Goulooze May 23, 1944 2,363,591 Howard Nov. 28, 1944 2,367,886 Nauert Jan. 23, 1945 2,442,204 Janos May 25, 1948 2,544,321 Iwashita Mar. 6, 1951 2,582,862 Frykdahl Jan. 15, 1952 

